NASA and SpaceX continue their joint preparations for the eventually astronaut crew missions that SpaceX will fly for the agency, with a test of the emergency evacuation procedure for SpaceX’s GO Searcher seaborne ship. The ship is intended to be used to recover spacecraft and astronauts in an actual mission scenario, and the rehearsals this week are a key part of ensuring mission readiness before an actual crewed SpaceX mission.
Photos from the dress rehearsal, which is the first coordinated end-to-end practice run involving the full NASA and SpaceX mission teams working in concert, saw NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken don SpaceX’s fancy new crew suits and mimic a situation where they needed to be removed from the returned Crew Dragon spacecraft and taken to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station from the GO Searcher by helicopter.
By all accounts, this was a successful exercise and seems to have left parties on both sides happy with the results. Check out photos released by NASA of the dry run below.
A quick moving storm passes as teams from NASA and SpaceX practice procedures for medical emergency evacuation onboard the GO Searcher ship, Friday, August 15, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX will use the GO Searcher ship during the Demo-2 mission to recover NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station in their Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Teams from NASA and SpaceX gather at the Trident Basin in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 13, 2019 to rehearse extracting astronauts from SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station. Using the Go Searcher ship SpaceX uses to recover their spacecraft after splashdown and a mock-up of the Crew Dragon, the teams worked through the steps necessary to get NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken out of the Dragon and back to dry land. Hurley and Behnken will fly to the space station aboard the Crew Dragon for the SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken, left, and Doug Hurley board the SpaceX GO Searcher ship at the Trident Basin in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on August 13, 2019 to rehearse extracting astronauts from SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station. Using the Go Searcher ship SpaceX uses to recover their spacecraft after splashdown and a mock-up of the Crew Dragon, the teams worked through the steps necessary to get NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken out of the Dragon and back to dry land. Hurley and Behnken will fly to the space station aboard the Crew Dragon for the SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken work with teams from NASA and SpaceX to rehearse crew extraction from SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station, on August 13, 2019 at the Trident Basin in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Using the Go Searcher ship SpaceX uses to recover their spacecraft after splashdown and a mock-up of the Crew Dragon, the teams worked through the steps necessary to get NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken out of the Dragon and back to dry land. Hurley and Behnken will fly to the space station aboard the Crew Dragon for the SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA astronauts Doug Hurley, left, and Bob Behnken work with teams from NASA and SpaceX to rehearse crew extraction from SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station, on August 13, 2019 at the Trident Basin in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Using the Go Searcher ship SpaceX uses to recover their spacecraft after splashdown and a mock-up of the Crew Dragon, the teams worked through the steps necessary to get NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken out of the Dragon and back to dry land. Hurley and Behnken will fly to the space station aboard the Crew Dragon for the SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA astronaut Doug Hurley, along with teams from NASA and SpaceX, rehearse crew extraction from SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station, on August 13, 2019 at the Trident Basin in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Using the Go Searcher ship SpaceX uses to recover their spacecraft after splashdown and a mock-up of the Crew Dragon, the teams worked through the steps necessary to get NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken out of the Dragon and back to dry land. Hurley and Behnken will fly to the space station aboard the Crew Dragon for the SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA astronaut Doug Hurley, along with teams from NASA and SpaceX, rehearse crew extraction from SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station, on August 13, 2019 at the Trident Basin in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Using the Go Searcher ship SpaceX uses to recover their spacecraft after splashdown and a mock-up of the Crew Dragon, the teams worked through the steps necessary to get NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken out of the Dragon and back to dry land. Hurley and Behnken will fly to the space station aboard the Crew Dragon for the SpaceX Demo-2 mission. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Teams from NASA and SpaceX practice procedures for medical emergency evacuation onboard the GO Searcher ship, Friday, August 15, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX will use the GO Searcher ship during the Demo-2 mission to recover NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station in their Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
A helicopter equipped for air medical operations lands on the GO Searcher ship as teams from NASA and SpaceX practice procedures for medical emergency evacuation, Friday, August 15, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX will use the GO Searcher ship during the Demo-2 mission to recover NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station in their Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Teams from NASA and SpaceX practice procedures for medical emergency evacuation onboard the GO Searcher ship, Friday, August 15, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX will use the GO Searcher ship during the Demo-2 mission to recover NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station in their Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
A helicopter equipped for air medical operations takes off from the GO Searcher ship as teams from NASA and SpaceX practice procedures for medical emergency evacuation, Friday, August 15, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX will use the GO Searcher ship during the Demo-2 mission to recover NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station in their Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Teams from NASA and SpaceX practice procedures for medical emergency evacuation onboard the GO Searcher ship, Friday, August 15, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX will use the GO Searcher ship during the Demo-2 mission to recover NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station in their Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The GO Searcher ship is seen from a helicopter during practice for a medical emergency evacuation, Friday, August 15, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. Teams from NASA and SpaceX gathered to refine procedures for emergency situations. SpaceX will use the GO Searcher ship during the Demo-2 mission to recover NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station in their Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The GO Searcher ship is seen from a helicopter during practice for a medical emergency evacuation, Friday, August 15, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. Teams from NASA and SpaceX gathered to refine procedures for emergency situations. SpaceX will use the GO Searcher ship during the Demo-2 mission to recover NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station in their Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Teams from NASA and SpaceX practice medical emergency evacuations from the GO Searcher ship via helicopter, Friday, August 15, 2019 in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The teams gathered to refine procedures for emergency situations. SpaceX will use the GO Searcher ship during the Demo-2 mission to recover NASA astronauts returning from the International Space Station in their Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Writer covering space, science and health tech. Formerly covering automotive and mobility tech, and previously an employee of Apple and also of Shopify.
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